Feeling Stuck in the Tangled SEO Web?

Article first published as Feeling Stuck in the Tangled SEO Web? on Technorati. As a relative latecomer to most things internet, I still don’t manage the firmest grasp on the subject of SEO (search engine optimization). Yes, everyone knows it has to do with how website owners can assist the search engines like Google/Yahoo/Bing to find their sites, and yes, SEO is important for driving traffic. So it seems this would be a pretty clear-cut thing to do, like making sure the phone book lists your business in both the white and yellow pages.
Being a DIY type, I do what everyone does and input search terms to study the subject. Turns out the more I research SEO; the more I realize this entity is not so clear-cut. There are many variables that go into how the search engines work and what factors of your website they determine to be important. In no particular order, a partial list of the factors search engines look for are: keywords and metatag info, quality and quantity of links that point to your site, page content and that of neighboring pages, size in data of your site, duration in months/years that the site has been around, and much more. In fact, Google claims to use over 200 variables in their page ranking algorithm. (Reminds me of how the NFL quarterback rating is determined, and even though nobody claims to understand it completely, we all know that a 107% rating is a lot better than 83%.)
Fortunately there are simple things everyone can do to make their sites more revealing to the indexing spiders who work incessantly for the search engines. Namely metatag data can be added to web pages, and URL’s can be directly submitted to Google, Yahoo and Bing since the largest three internet search engines should be the best places to start. Click on those hyperlinks to go directly to their departments for submitting sites. For submitting metatag details, either check with your site designer or follow the tutorials for places like WordPress, Blogger and with site-building programs like Dreamweaver and FrontPage.
Additionally one may find dozens of alternative search engines and index companies that promise assistance with this SEO enigma. Because many of these companies charge money or require email address with no reassuring privacy policy, I’d rather not use them. I did find one company that’s been around since 1996 and seems to have an excellent free program as well as paid services for those that want to maximize results. Check out ScrubTheWeb for their free SEO test. It’s a lot of fun to see how they rank your website on a scale from 1 to 100, and if they find glaring errors that aren’t in your favor (e.g., the title has more than 60 characters) they’ll let you know.
--
Click here for the home page of Jason Matthews, spiritual fiction author.

add me to your Google Plus circles.
 
+Jason Matthews

Google Alerts, an Invaluable Online Tool

 I seriously love this program and use it everyday.
 Google Alerts are simply wonderful. If you want to know about anything online that has to do with you, like your name, ebook, URL for a download page or something else, Google will tell you as soon as it’s online. It happens within a day of any posting. That goes for a blog entry, comment at some obscure forum, a written article or a page on somebody's site. It’s great tool and free of cost.
Here’s an alert I just got, and I was happy to know that someone posted this.
Or if there's an illegal sharing of my ebooks or download page, I can find out about that too.
To be aware of anyone online who could be talking about you or something you care about, Google Alerts are the way to find out about it.
For those who intend to sell ebooks, Google Alerts is a mandatory tool.
--
Click here for the home page of Jason Matthews, spiritual fiction author.

add me to your Google Plus circles.

+Jason Matthews

Google Alerts, a Marketing Must for Notifying You about any Subject

Google Alerts are incredibly helpful and a real must for anyone marketing online. I use them for my book titles, for my name and also for subjects of interest. For those who aren’t familiar with Google Alerts, this is how the company describes them;
Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
-monitoring a developing news story
-keeping current on a competitor or industry
-getting the latest on a celebrity or event
-keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams
But I use them to help me with marketing efforts. For example, I get alerts each day about anything on the subject of making and selling ebooks. I can then click on those links and read the current articles and blogs. Very often, there will be a comment box where I can leave a comment on the article and include a blurb about my ebooks including a link to my sites. Blog hosts almost always publish comments because they want it to appear that lots of people read their post. As long as you’re not blatantly spamming an advertisement for your stuff, it’s really easy to get your message and links out there for others to click on. This will help generate traffic to your sites and rise you in search engine rankings over time.
To get started, visit the site – http://www.google.com/alerts and fill out the form with your search terms and a return email. Once a day or so, Google will email you with any web content that appears. I find it super handy for being informed of any references to me and/or my books. But it’s also great for notifications if someone is talking about a subject that I care about.
Then visit those articles and blog posts. If there’s a comment box, leave a thoughtful comment. Usually, you get to insert your URL which will be a clickable part of your name next to your comment. Sometimes you can also type in a URL that will become clickable. After leaving comments, make sure the links work.
Remember, comments often require the moderator to approve them, but blog hosts almost always do because it shows that people read their blog. No bloggers enjoy seeing their comment boxes reading zero, even me (wink, wink).
So put Google alerts to use and make connections instantly. For more helpful advice like this please check out my ebook, How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks – All for FREE by Jason Matthews. Available for Amazon Kindle, at Smashwords in any format, or as a PDF for reading on a computer here. And it’s not just for selling ebooks, but it’s for marketing and selling anything online for free.
--
Click here for the home page of Jason Matthews, spiritual fiction author.

add me to your Google Plus circles.

+Jason Matthews